Thoughts about Premium trial offer for new Sense purchase

[Raz124]

I took out a one week trial of Fitbit Premium a year ago. Given the relatively basic tracker I currently have (Charge 2) the Premium service didn't give me that much insight so I didn't continue with the subscription.  

I'm now considering purchasing a Fitbit Sense at £299 and I understand that Fitbit Premium might well be more useful (in the feedback it provides) due to the new sensors the Fitbit Sense has.

Unfortunately I have just been advised that having had a free trial at any time in the past (no matter how brief and how long ago) makes me ineligible for the "6 months of FREE Fitbit Premium when you buy this product" offer that is being applied to the Fitbit Sense, as it's for "New Premium users only". 

I'd argue that paying £299 for a new Fitbit device makes me a "New Premium user". Even the support agent I chatted with at Fitbit originally agreed, stating - "Considering is a new purchase of a new model, im quite sure it should be free no matter what trial you had before" before they read the tems and conditions more thoroughly and changed their tune. 

What do you think? Is Fitbit adequately rewarding customer/brand loyalty here? Or am I being unreasonable?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject and updated label

[Raz124]

EDIT: the webchat team didn't have the full picture. Apparently as I had the subscription for only a week and it was a year ago I should beeligible for the 6 month subscription on the sense. 

I wish that these nuances could be made clearer somewhere - helps the new purchsae decision!  

[mikecyprus]

The right thing is to give allowance for "6 months of free subscription" to all customers who buy the watch regardless if they were premium subscribers in the past or not. It's a new purchase, of a new device. 

[RonaldM]

I posted something similar, In the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic Fitbit offered free access to Fitbit Premium to all Fitbit users. So I guess a lot of current Fitbit owners are not able to use the offer. 

[Giampi71]

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@Raz124 wrote:

EDIT: the webchat team didn't have the full picture. Apparently as I had the subscription for only a week and it was a year ago I should beeligible for the 6 month subscription on the sense. 

I wish that these nuances could be made clearer somewhere - helps the new purchsae decision!  

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Actually I have my doubts that this can be true. In fact I recently registered a new Fitbit account and I still can't use a Premium trial offer because I'm trying to set it up from my same phone / Google account. 

I suggest to double check.

[N8teGee]

So in theory it could be possible for an existing user to create a new Google account to claim another premium trial?

Create new Google account - Sign in - (I guess payment method would need to be added) - open Fitbit app - add the Sense (which should hopefully trigger a 6 month premium offer) - claim the premium - turn off auto renew in Google play (and remove payment details) - sign out - sign back into your old account.

Sounds like a lot of effort, but maybe it would work.

[Giampi71]

I'm not so sure, it didn't work for me. Maybe you also need to use a new credit card that was not assigned to the original account. And maybe you need to remove the original google account. Too much work actually to overcome a problem that shouldn't exist or that Fitbit should be in charge to solve it.

[Raz124]

I spoke directly with Fitbit support after my initial webchat conversation.  I've added (below) their post-call summary of my eligibility.

It doesn't capture the full detail of the call - what's omitted below is that they said during the call that because my most recent trial was for an existing device, was only short (one week) and had expired before 2020 (I think they specifically said May 2020, but it could have been March) I would in effect be considered a new subscriber now. I got the sense too that this may not have been the case we're I to be simply seeking a new free trial for my existing device - I had been at pains to point out that the purchase of a new £299 device was a fairly serious decision and it would be a shame if customer loyalty wasn't reciprocated. 

The reply does seem to be more encompassing than what we discussed on the phone - the suggestion here (and I hope it's not misleading) is that anyone with an existing Premium account may also swap to the free six month trial. 

REPLY FROM FITBIT:

Thank you for your inquiry surrounding the Fitbit Premium subscription. As we had discussed earlier , here a brief overview of eligibility.

If you’re a current Fitbit Premium subscriber, you can start the free trial after you cancel your premium subscription and set up your new Fitbit Sense or Fitbit Inspire 2.

If you purchased your Fitbit Premium subscription on:
- fitbit.com: contact us to get an extension of the billing date for your subscription.
-your app store (Apple App Store or Google Play Store): cancel the subscription in your store of purchase. Note: You’ll see your free trial offer for Fitbit Premium in the Fitbit app after your current subscription period ends (up to 30 days later, depending on when you canceled your subscription.)

If you’re not a current Fitbit Premium subscriber, you can start the free trial after you purchase and set up Fitbit Sense or Fitbit Inspire 2.

[N8teGee]

So they are admitting that the following footnote on the press release page (here) is incorrect? 

6	New Premium users only. Valid payment method required. Free trial must be activated within 60 days of device activation. Cancel before free trial ends to avoid subscription fees. See full terms & conditions here. Premium content and features subject to change.

[Raz124]

I don't know. I suppose it all hinges on

what you define a 'New Premium user' to be. Their terms and conditions don't actually define this. On the subject of free trials they state:

Free Trials. From time to time, we may offer free trials of certain Subscriptions for specified periods of time without payment. If we offer you a free trial, the specific terms of your free trial will be provided in the marketing materials describing the particular trial. 

[Giampi71]

I agree with @Raz124 and @N8teGee 

Situation is way too confuse. 

In particular this sentence

"If you’re not a current Fitbit Premium subscriber, you can start the free trial after you purchase and set up Fitbit Sense or Fitbit Inspire 2.

that contradicts completely the new Fitbit user statement.

EDIT: sorry, this is exactly what you were stating... 😞